- Cherries
grow best in arid environments like those found in Hammana.
Here, warm summer days and cool nights help produce large cherries with
firmness and high sugars.
- Select the right orchard locations for slope to the sunshine, good air drainage with no frost pockets, and low pest pressures.
- Growers must also select the right cherry varieties and rootstock to grow in their location.
- Pollinator trees are needed in cherry orchards to assure a crop will be pollinated successfully.
- A
season-long water source needs to be part of the plan to establish the
irrigation system that will be the lifeline to the orchard. Sprinklers
are usually high impact, drip or emitters.
How Cherry Orchards Are Cared for Through the Seasons Spring - Cherry bloom takes place.
- During
bloom, the orchard is monitored for cold, which can result in a loss of
potential crop.
- The fruit officially sets on the tree and begins to grow.
- In the late spring, Hammana cherries are ready for harvest.
Summer - Harvest is the main activity in Hammana and and the area cherry orchards during the summer months.
- Cherry growers monitor the weather, water trees and prepare for harvest daily
- Trees are fed with nutrients to fuel cherry growth and quality. This may come from compost
Fall - Cherry trees begin to rest and recover from harvest. They shed their leaves and enter a resting state once temperatures drop.
- Compost in late fall right before the leaf drop.
Winter - Orchards go dormant and will rest, which is important for fruit growth and quality the following season.
- Growers keep track of cool temperatures to assure adequate chill hours for cherries
- This is the time that extensive pruning gets the tree staged for spring again.
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